The importance of structural characteristics for interaction quality in Austrian preschools

IF 1.8 4区教育学 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal Pub Date : 2023-04-05 DOI:10.1080/1350293X.2023.2195675

Wilfried Smidt, Eva-Maria Embacher

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many studies have found associations between structural characteristics and interaction quality of children in ECEC settings. However, findings are inconsistent and since previous research has been conducted outside Austria, transferability to the Austrian country context is limited. By addressing this gap, the study aims to identify relations between structural characteristics and interaction quality (measured with the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System, inCLASS) of 161 three- and four-year-old children from 55 preschools in Austria. After including control variables, main findings revealed positive relations between adequate equipment and teacher interactions and negative relations between child-staff ratio, proportion of children with immigration background per preschool class, preschool teachers’ work experience and peer interactions. Preschool teachers’ job security was positively related to task orientation and poorer child-staff ratio corresponded with more conflict interactions. Higher work experience led to fewer conflict interactions. The results indicate that specific structural characteristics are associated with a higher interaction quality in preschools in Austria.

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结构特征对奥地利幼儿园互动质量的重要性

许多研究发现在ECEC环境中儿童的结构特征与互动质量之间存在关联。然而，研究结果是不一致的，而且由于以前的研究是在奥地利以外进行的，因此对奥地利国家情况的可转移性是有限的。通过解决这一差距，该研究旨在确定结构特征与互动质量之间的关系(用个性化课堂评估评分系统，inCLASS测量)，来自奥地利55所幼儿园的161名三岁和四岁儿童。在引入控制变量后，主要发现设备充足与教师互动呈正相关，幼儿比例、移民背景儿童占学前班比例、幼儿教师工作经验与同伴互动呈负相关。幼儿教师的工作安全感与任务取向正相关，越低的师生比与冲突互动越相关。更高的工作经验导致更少的冲突互动。结果表明，特定的结构特征与奥地利幼儿园较高的互动质量有关。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

8.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： The European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ) is the publication of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), an international organisation dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of research in Early Childhood Education throughout Europe and beyond. CREC is the UK base for the European Early Childhood Research Association. EECERA welcomes and encourages membership and contributions from across the world to share and participate in its European perspective. EECERJ aims to provide a forum for the publication of original research in early childhood education in Europe.